20 IMCWP, Written Contribution of CP of Cuba

11/23/18 9:04 PM

Speech of the Cuban delegation to the 20th International Meeting of the Communist and Workers´ Parties (IMCWP).

Comrades all:

On October 10th, 1968, on the Centennial of the beginning of our independence wars, the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, said “… In Cuba there has been a single revolution, the one started by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes one hundred years ago and the onethat is being carried forward by our people at present”.

With this memorable phrase was sealed the true and continuous nature of the Cuban revolutionary process that today, 150 years after its beginning, continue having in Martí its ethical reference, its unity and vocation of struggle; in the Marxist ideas its permanent source of inspiration; and in Fidel its sense of justice and the unflinching faith on victory.

A few weeks before marking the 60th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution and with the infinite pride of having being true to a history full of heroism, the challenges being faced today by our people are not less in the determination to update the economic and social model of socialist development that will enable us to have an independent, sovereign, socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable nation.

Esteemed comrades all,

For the last three months we have carried out throughout the country a deep process of Constitutional Reform in which millions of our citizens have participated and contributed to this transcendental document with proposals and considerations.

The new Constitution incorporates Fidel´s ideas in the concept of Revolution handed over to us; reaffirms the role of the Communist Party of Cuba as the organized vanguard of the working class and as the leading superior force of the State and Society, and as guarantor of unity and builder of consensus in its permanent link with the people.

The determination to go forward in the process of construction of socialism, in keeping with our traditions, history and amidst the present complex international scenario is another element included in the Draft-Constitution that preserves the humanist principles and social justice, thus widening the citizens´ rights and their fundamental guarantees.

In keeping with the decisions taken at the 6th and 7th Party Congresses, changes are introduced in the economic and social model; the regulatory capacity and control of the State on the economic processes in the country are reaffirmed; the leading role of the socialist ownership is ratified while acknowledging other types of ownership and arrangements; and the role of the planned management of the economy, which considers and regulates the market, is reaffirmed.

There are proposals to change and improve the State structure, making it more functional and granting more autonomy to local governments.

The First Secretary of the Party, comrade Raúl Castro Ruz, who presides over the Commission in charge of the Constitutional Reform process, has repeatedly called on the citizens to understand the need and scope of the changes we have to make in the Constitution in order to ensure the irreversible character of Socialism and the continuity of the Revolution.

We have to carry out this noble endeavor in the face of the intractable policy of aggression and U.S. economic, financial and commercial blockade, which has been tightened by the present Trump administration, thus imposing a significant reversal in the relations between the two nations and a return to the hostile language that characterized the Cold War years.

The Blockade is the main obstacle to our development, but it has failed in its aim to reverse the revolutionary process in Cuba, and is rejected by the overwhelming majority of the international community.

Cuba has shown its willingness to make progress in the process of normalizing our bilateral relations with the Unites states, but making clear that nobody should expect from us any compromise regarding our principles and the independence and self-determination of the nation. I take up this opportunity to express our gratitude to all parties here for their permanent solidarity with our people.

Friends,

We are living times of increasing threats and dangers to world peace and stability, heightened by the agonized efforts of the U.S. ruling class to settle down as dominant superpower by imposing their national interests, disregarding the international organizations and the agreements and multilateral commitments made.

U.S imperialism, the international financial capital and the oligarchic forces subordinated to them have unleashed a strong offensive against the progressive, revolutionary and left governments in Latin America and the Caribbean, using all available means, including non-conventional warfare.

Last July we held in Cuba the 24th Meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum which was mainly focused in assessing the situation in the region, gaining experience from recent years and projecting actions aimed at promoting the unity of the left forces, on the basis of a program of common struggle against the neoliberal offensive of imperialism and national oligarchies.

What is a stake in Latin America is the independence of our peoples in the face of the insatiable appetite of domination of the “brutal and turbulent North that despises us”, as José Martí said; to preserve the emerging integration in the face of the old attempts to divide, split and confront us; to build alternatives with popular, democratic and participative models and processes or to succumb to the reactionary right which in essence is a mere caricature of the well- known old repressive dictatorships in our continent.

That is why it is so important to reaffirm the validity of the Proclamation of Latin America as a Peace Zone, in Havana, on January 2014, as a guarantee of peaceful coexistence among our nations, as a principle for integration and as the basis for advancing in the development of the region.

In the face of this adverse scenario, the Communist Party of Cuba reaffirms its unconditional support to the Bolivarian and Chavist Revolution in Venezuela and to its constitutional president Nicolas Maduro; rejects the acts of vandalism in Nicaragua to destabilize and overthrow the Sandinista Government; condemns the illegal imprisonment and unjust political disqualification of former president Lula in Brazil; denounces the political persecution of social movement and left leaders in the whole region; supports President Evo Morales´ Government, wishing him success in his re-election; and we resolutely accompany the Colombian people in its long struggle to achieve a just and lasting peace.

Esteemed comrades,

In the constitutional document that will shortly be submitted to popular referendum, there is a reaffirmation of the foreign policy principles of the Cuban Revolution, on the basis of anti-imperialism and internationalism; mutual cooperation; the unity of Third World countries; the condemnation to fascism, colonialism, neocolonialism and other forms of subjugation; the non-intervention in the internal affairs of the States; and the rejection of racism and discrimination, among others.

To this effect, we express our firm solidarity with the Saharawi people and its free self-determination, as well as our support to the Palestinian people while condemning the continuous aggressions of the Zionist State of Israel against this noble and suffered nation.

True to its tradition, The Communist Party of Cuba will continue to promote the unity and cooperation among the communist and workers´ parties, the development of relations based on trust and respect among our parties, and the practice of internationalist solidarity, with the common objective of making progress to overcome capitalism and to build a society based on justice and social equality, something which is only possible under Socialism.